As night fell, water vapor and gunpowder smoke combined, forming a hazy layer of fog on the battlefield. This was the last night for everyone to stay in the camp.
"Tomorrow morning we will take the wounded soldiers and prisoners and go directly to Changde City. General Wei's troops have already set off along the Yuanshui River. At this time, the government is already frightened. General Wei should only recover Changde City in a short time. By the time we get there
We must have won it." Zhu Heng said calmly in the Chinese army's tent, "Chenzhou has also arranged a group of troops to go over, so it won't be difficult to capture it. The troops left by Xue Lu there may have heard the news.
Just run away..."
There are still a few generals in the Chinese army's tent, and they are also accompanied by officials from the Senate Department. Everyone's face was red because they had drunk some wine before. The battle is not completely over yet, and a large number of soldiers and horses are still fighting.
It wasn't time to celebrate, but that didn't stop people from drinking a lot of wine in advance to celebrate the victory.
Zhu Heng finished arranging the next business, but everyone had no intention of leaving. The family was still immersed in the fierce battle during the day.
"My lord, can you play chess? Today's business is almost done, how about I play a game of chess with my lord?" Zhu Heng asked pretending to be relaxed.
Zhang Ning, who was sitting on the futon in the middle, said casually: "What kind of chess is Zhu Butang referring to? I'm pretty good at chess, but I'm afraid I'll laugh at Go."
"We can only find Go in the army." Zhu Heng said seriously, "If the lord doesn't mind, can I temporarily teach the lord how to play Go?"
Zhu Heng is the most senior civil servant under Zhang Ning. Others kindly offered to teach him how to play chess. Music, chess, calligraphy and painting are all elegant things among literati, so he couldn't refuse. Besides, Zhang Ning could only sleep in a tent in the wilderness tonight.
After sleeping, there was nothing to do at night, so he smiled and said: "That's great, I can just ask an expert in gaming for advice."
After hearing what he said, Zhu Heng asked the guards to get a set of Go. The two of them placed a simple wooden table in the middle of the futon and put the chessboard on it. All the civil servants and military generals also watched with interest.
The two sides of the game are the prince and the president of the Senate. No matter how the chess is played, it may be interesting.
Zhu Heng picked up a white piece from the chess cup and said with a smile: "My lord is respectful, so I placed the piece rudely. After that, I placed the piece on a corner of the chessboard without thinking."
Zhang Ning really doesn’t know much about Go. If people are not professional chess players or enthusiasts nowadays, Go is really not popular anymore... He is more proficient in Landlord. But although he doesn’t understand much, it is the basic rules of qingchu, nothing more than four sides.
The chess piece in the middle will "die" when it is surrounded; and usually the starting move is to occupy the corner, so he also landed a piece in a corner of the chessboard.
"Haha." Zhu Heng smiled heartily, "My lord, it's a wonderful move."
Zhang Ning: "..."
Even people watching the chess game felt that it was too obvious that Zhu Heng wanted to flatter him. Unexpectedly, Zhu Heng said with reason: "This first move is the simplest and the best. The lord wants to take the corner when he starts.
I have mastered the skill of Go, but I don’t mean to compliment you. Just like when the King of Han raised his army, my lord and ministers persuaded the King of Han to go down and capture Nanjing, which would be the southeast corner."
Now Zhang Ning seemed to understand that it was a lie that Zhu Heng wanted to play chess, but it was true that he wanted to have something to say about strategy at this juncture. So he felt it was true. Although he didn't understand Go very well, he wanted to use chess to make sense.
Still very understanding.
Zhang Ning picked up the chess pieces to occupy the empty space on the chessboard, and followed Zhu Heng's explanation and said: "It is indeed a good way to occupy the corners first. Both sides are sealed by the border, and the impact is small, so you can easily enclose the territory.
development situation.”
Zhu Heng was also making random moves, and the two of them were making moves very quickly. Without thinking, he said, "The four corners on this chessboard are all the same, but the four corners in the world are different."
Zhang Ning said with a smile: "I still need Mr. Zhu to give me some advice."
Zhu Heng said calmly: "Let's just say that the southeast corner occupied by the Han Dynasty has been a strategically important place since ancient times. The country is rich and the people are strong and can be attacked and defended. However, in order to occupy this corner and hold it firmly, the Yangtze River natural moat is not the most critical place. It is one of the key points.
But it is the Huaihe River. Since ancient times, it has been said that "to defend the river, you must defend the Huaihe River". The Huaihe River not only provides a barrier for the defense line of the Yangtze River; the width and depth between the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River also ensure the safety of the Yangtze River, so that if one place is breached, it will go straight to the heart. So in the long run
It seems that the natural chasm of the Yangtze River is too fragile. There has never been a precedent for the people occupying the southeast corner to lose the Huaihe River and survive it for a long time.
Therefore, when the Beijing camp chased southward after the battle in Xuzhou, it rushed to attack Yangzhou and Huai'an without properly preparing food and supplies, and took the lead in seizing control of the north bank of the Yangtze River. After the Han army was defeated in the Jianghuai River, it had no choice but to set up heavy troops to defend the river. This was a lost game.
The next key point in the southeast corner is Huguang, especially Wuchang. To ensure the integrity of the river defense, the middle and upper reaches must be controlled, otherwise the enemy can move down the river; even if the towns in the middle reaches are heavily defended, it will not be possible.
The best policy.
The ministers repeatedly suggested that the King of Han want to invade Wuchang, which offended many people, but the suggestions were not adopted. The King of Han did not get the key to both places, and the southeast corner could not be secured. This was a long-standing truth on the "chessboard" of the Central Plains.
"The king of Han does not understand this game of chess, so great things will never happen."
Zhang Ning nodded frequently and felt that it made sense. These myths may be just common sense in the history of hegemony for thousands of years, but they may only be common sense among a few people. This was the first time Zhang Ning heard about the "horn" strategy. He
Gradually, he became very interested and muttered: "If the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions are compared to the southeast corner, then the southwest corner should be Sichuan? The northwest corner must be Guanzhong, and the northeast corner...should not be Liaodong. In the past, Liaodong was not controlled by the Central Plains Dynasty.
The core area refers to Hebei?"
Zhu Heng bowed and said, "My lord, you are right."
Zhang Ning bowed, sat upright, and hurriedly asked: "Then what is the Huguang we occupy? Please teach me, sir."
However, Zhu Heng gave up and looked down at the territory: "I and the lord each have two corners. The corners have been fought over. It's time to fight for sides."
It was obviously Zhu Heng who gave way to him on the Go board, so Zhang Ning could calmly take the corner. However, the focus tonight was obviously not on Go. Zhang Ning suddenly said: "We have taken a side!"
"We haven't even captured the border yet. At least we have to take advantage of the victory to seize Wuchang, Yuezhou, Jingzhou and other places before we dare to claim that we have captured the border." Zhu Heng said bluntly, twirling the beard on his chin, "So when we faced Chenzhou,
When tens of thousands of troops were pressing down on the border, I repeatedly blocked my lord from turning to attack Baoqing. It was out of this general consideration that I had to occupy a side to be considered a finalist and qualified to exist on the chessboard."
Zhang Ning said: "According to Mr. Yu's metaphor of the world as a chess game, the corner is the best place, so it shouldn't be a good idea for us to occupy the border?"
Zhu Heng shook his head slightly and said: "No. In the beginning of the game of chess, we have to fight for the corners. Just like the beginning of the world's transition from rule to chaos, all the heroes have to occupy the corners to build up momentum and not be easily swallowed up in the torrent; but now this is
In a special period, it is not the general trend of fighting chaos and resuming competition. Chaos is only temporary, and fighting for a corner is meaningless. Just like the world is unified, there is only one corner left, what is the use of having a corner? It cannot compete with the whole world.
With all due respect, in terms of the general situation, I didn’t think that the King of Han and the lord had much chance at the beginning, but now that the matter has come to this, the only way to do it is to do it knowing that it cannot be done. At this time, for some reason, from the beginning
We have to look at the whole situation, there is no chance to gain momentum by taking advantage of one corner; since we cannot limit ourselves to just one corner, we have to advance to the 'side'. I have something to say: 'It is better to attack than to defend', I hope your lord will remember this.
Why do we have to fight for borders? Anyone who is enterprising must fight for borders to expand outward. During the Three Kingdoms period, the Shu Han Dynasty had Yizhou (Sichuan) and occupied a corner of it, but it attached great importance to Jingzhou. It was fighting for borders and there was no Jingzhou.
It is difficult for the Shu Han to be aggressive... The king of Han has the southeast corner, but he is not our close enemy, but is beneficial to me; so we have to fight for the border, and the next step is to strive to be in harmony with the southeast so that we can
Building momentum...Wuchang is a must-win!"
Zhang Ning nodded in agreement.
Zhu Heng added: "In this battle, there is no strong enemy in Huguang. Yuezhou and other places are like searching for something, but it is not yet time to relax. I suggest that we prepare to attack Wuchang as soon as possible. Then we can occupy Kuizhou to gain momentum."
"
Zhang Ning pondered for a moment and asked: "Is the emphasis on Kuizhou to prevent Sichuan?"
Zhu Hengdao: "There is a passage in "The Biography of Zhang Yi" where Qin occupied Xichuan and threatened Chu. It says this: 'The big ship started from Wenshan to collect millet, floated down the river, and reached Chu for more than three thousand miles. The boat carried soldiers,
A boat carrying fifty people and three months of food can be launched into the water and floated. It can travel more than three hundred miles in one day. Although the distance is many, it does not require the effort of oxen and horses, and it will not take ten days to reach the defense pass..." This has been said.
Mystery. The king of Han occupies the southeast corner, and I occupy one side. Going north is the direction of the Central Plains, and the defense must be at the southwest corner. If you want to pass through this side, as long as you occupy Kuizhou, you will have guarded its throat. With Kuizhou in hand, there will be no serious trouble in the southwest.
also."
Zhang Ning thought so and immediately praised: "I won Mr. Zhu and defeated one hundred thousand divisions. I really learned a lot from tonight's game of chess. I think that losing Jianghuai is not the biggest loss for the king of Han. Losing Mr. Zhu
It just broke my muscles and bones."
Zhu Heng shook his head and sighed: "I am just a scholar. I can't charge into battle in front of me. I can't earn money or food in the back. I only have a three-inch tongue. If the king is more important, he will be more serious, and if he is less important, he will be humble. That's all. When I was in Nanjing, I repeatedly reminded me of the importance of Wuchang.
, but being scorned by others, what is the use of it? Alas, it’s a pity that the King of Han was misunderstood by a bunch of idiots.”
Zhang Ning somewhat disagreed with this statement. Historically, the King of Han had never caused any trouble. If he hadn't subtly affected the trend, he wouldn't even have been able to occupy the southwest corner.
However, Zhu Heng is indeed a necessary talent. Unless he obtains a high-level senior adviser, there must be no shortage of such a person; Zhang Ning has self-awareness, and forward-looking vision is not omnipotent. He also needs someone with "systematic" contemporary insights.
People... and most of these people have made a difference and cannot be found just among common people. Fortunately, Zhu Heng is there.